The most successful, healthy weight-loss plans will require you to eat healthier and do regular exercise to help you lose weight and maintain your new figure. Supplements, diet pills, eating plans and exercise equipment on their own won't help you lose weight and keep it off long-term, unless you are dedicated to changing your lifestyle for the better.

According to the American Obesity Association, by losing a small amount of weight - around 5 - 10% of your initial weight - you can reduce the risk of serious health problems like heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure arthritis, respiratory disease and even some forms of cancer. Just imagine losing even more weight than this. The benefits and change in your life would be dramatic. But, how do you lose weight the healthy way and benefit from all the health related changes that come with losing weight the best way?

Healthy weight-loss programs combine eating nutritional foods with regular exercise to help encourage the body to convert stored fat in the body into glucose to act as fuel, so you are not only losing weight, you have more energy. Often, people get into the bad habit of yo-yo dieting, which is the act of losing weight, then gaining it right back and then start dieting again. By learning a healthy, easy-to-stick eating and exercise plan over a traditional diet, you will not only lose weight the healthy way, you will notice a raise in self-esteem, improved health and learn to keep weight off long term.

The only way that the body can lose weight is to burn more calories than your body is taking in. Don't make the mistake of thinking that just because you need to eat fewer calories, you have to eat less food. Healthy eating plans are all about educating yourself on which foods can be eaten in large amounts and which foods must only be eaten in small portions. But, most of all, it is important to remember that when you are losing weight the healthy way, you never need to starve yourself or go hungry. You just need to learn what different foods do to the body.

Some very popular diets these days are the South Beach Diet, the Mayo Clinic Diet and the Cabbage soup diet.

Weight-loss Supplements

There are many supplements available for those who are changing to a healthier lifestyle and want to have some extra nutrition or want a little help along the way. Just remember that no matter how good a supplement is, it will not take the place of proper nutrition and exercise. Diet pills are made to complement your weight loss goals while using a logical eating plan, as well as regular activity.

Vitamin and mineral supplements have become popular over the years to help our bodies get the vitamins and minerals that are lacking in the soil our foods are grown in. Many vitamins and minerals are great complimentary practices and will help to give you energy and an overall feeling of well being, as well as assist in the shedding pounds process.

Some well known diet pills are Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) pills, Phentermine (prescription), and Hoodia Gordonii.

A word of caution, before taking any supplement, make sure that you read the label carefully and speak to your doctor first if you are currently on any medications or suffer from any illnesses.